I am definitely NOT a fan of legalizing marijuana except under strict medical supervision with an independence licensing agencies empowered to shut doctors and pharmacies down if they abuse their ability to prescribe.
The ONLY reason why I am in favor of legalizing marijuana even under those circumstances is because of the benefits for pain relief some patients recieve and for how it helps reduce or eliminate seizures for some epileptics. But--marijuana doesn't work for everyone, and in some people it can cause violent schizophrenia and mania that is absolutely off the charts.
Here are just a few links that highlight the danger from the deceptively packaged edibles:
There are people who have insanely bad reactions even when they know what they're eating.
The AP may not have originally gotten this story correct--or subsequent outlets may have inflated the number of consumable eaten (some say six cookies, not one):
I have so much more to say about this; how a kid I know was exposed to marijuana smoke in her father's home, leading to a buzz followed by withdrawal when she went back to her mother (they were divorced). This made her feel extremely miserable every time after she was required to see him. Because they lived in Colorado where pot has been legalized, her mother was unable to get the family court judge to stop visitation or to require supervised visits to limit her minor child's exposure.
And then, there's the guy who smoked a joint with his buddy and got high, and then went on Facebook and was going on for more than a WEEK about how he was God, and it was the end of the world, and how his wife needed to come home so they could DIE TOGETHER. I had a front row seat to all that drama. (UGH) There were kids on both sides (hers, his, blended family) affected by that.
People on drugs do REALLY STUPID THINGS to mess up their lives and the lives of everyone around them. The consequences can be forever.
If you want to know more, Alex Berenson, an independent journalist, wrote a book about all of this:
Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
We are very much on the same page, but putting people in jail is not the proper response. In fact, Nebraska law largely agrees by pushing rehabilitation. However, regulation is necessary but it has largely been absent because so few legislators do not know how best to regulate it.
Andrew, it was late at night when I first saw your comment here and replied to it, so I want to take a moment to reply to it more fully.
I mostly agree with you that jail not the answer. Our jails are being used for all kinds of things that jails were never intended to address. They are not mental health treatment and detention centers--or at least, they shouldn't be. Locking the mentally ill up in jail does not and never will properly address or fix their very real medical problems.
They are also not substance abuse treatment centers.
That said, I believe that it SHOULD be illegal to abuse any drug including marijuana and alcohol, and it SHOULD be illegal to give tobacco to minors or to fill a room with smoke from any substance when a minor is present--and there should be the option of being sent to jail if you're caught doing it, as well as other consequences. The reason why I believe that those penalties should be available is so that the judges have the ability to respond appropriately to the evidence of addiction and serious mischief when it is presented to them in court, especially in the context of "how is this affecting other people."
Other consenting adults can usually find ways to leave a toxic situation when they're sufficiently motivated, but children have a much harder time doing so. And they need to be protected.
Well, this is a bit of tricky question. Very few have died in being intoxicated by such drugs in their first exposure. The problem here is the actual experience of such exposure will only encourage more drug usage which can result in death. In addition, death is not the only problem as such drug usage can cause multiple health problems.
Thank you for discussing this, Andrew.
I am definitely NOT a fan of legalizing marijuana except under strict medical supervision with an independence licensing agencies empowered to shut doctors and pharmacies down if they abuse their ability to prescribe.
The ONLY reason why I am in favor of legalizing marijuana even under those circumstances is because of the benefits for pain relief some patients recieve and for how it helps reduce or eliminate seizures for some epileptics. But--marijuana doesn't work for everyone, and in some people it can cause violent schizophrenia and mania that is absolutely off the charts.
Here are just a few links that highlight the danger from the deceptively packaged edibles:
https://www.wltx.com/article/news/national/feds-crack-companies-marketing-weed-edibles-kid-friendly-packaging/101-d45c4ec8-b4d3-4689-9b24-45f61d7cfbdf
https://www.newsweek.com/dea-warning-halloween-candy-meth-marijuana-safety-laced-2018-1195299
There are people who have insanely bad reactions even when they know what they're eating.
The AP may not have originally gotten this story correct--or subsequent outlets may have inflated the number of consumable eaten (some say six cookies, not one):
https://apnews.com/general-news-48ab1e47bc1f4024b326da09300c84e2#
I have so much more to say about this; how a kid I know was exposed to marijuana smoke in her father's home, leading to a buzz followed by withdrawal when she went back to her mother (they were divorced). This made her feel extremely miserable every time after she was required to see him. Because they lived in Colorado where pot has been legalized, her mother was unable to get the family court judge to stop visitation or to require supervised visits to limit her minor child's exposure.
And then, there's the guy who smoked a joint with his buddy and got high, and then went on Facebook and was going on for more than a WEEK about how he was God, and it was the end of the world, and how his wife needed to come home so they could DIE TOGETHER. I had a front row seat to all that drama. (UGH) There were kids on both sides (hers, his, blended family) affected by that.
People on drugs do REALLY STUPID THINGS to mess up their lives and the lives of everyone around them. The consequences can be forever.
If you want to know more, Alex Berenson, an independent journalist, wrote a book about all of this:
Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Your-Children-Marijuana-Violence/dp/1982103663
We are very much on the same page, but putting people in jail is not the proper response. In fact, Nebraska law largely agrees by pushing rehabilitation. However, regulation is necessary but it has largely been absent because so few legislators do not know how best to regulate it.
Andrew, it was late at night when I first saw your comment here and replied to it, so I want to take a moment to reply to it more fully.
I mostly agree with you that jail not the answer. Our jails are being used for all kinds of things that jails were never intended to address. They are not mental health treatment and detention centers--or at least, they shouldn't be. Locking the mentally ill up in jail does not and never will properly address or fix their very real medical problems.
They are also not substance abuse treatment centers.
That said, I believe that it SHOULD be illegal to abuse any drug including marijuana and alcohol, and it SHOULD be illegal to give tobacco to minors or to fill a room with smoke from any substance when a minor is present--and there should be the option of being sent to jail if you're caught doing it, as well as other consequences. The reason why I believe that those penalties should be available is so that the judges have the ability to respond appropriately to the evidence of addiction and serious mischief when it is presented to them in court, especially in the context of "how is this affecting other people."
Other consenting adults can usually find ways to leave a toxic situation when they're sufficiently motivated, but children have a much harder time doing so. And they need to be protected.
We need a law that says that if you're abusing any substance, you can't have unsupervised time with any child, not even your own.
one question.... how many children have died because of accidental ingestion?
Well, this is a bit of tricky question. Very few have died in being intoxicated by such drugs in their first exposure. The problem here is the actual experience of such exposure will only encourage more drug usage which can result in death. In addition, death is not the only problem as such drug usage can cause multiple health problems.